The next time one of your customers does something you don’t like, follow the lead of telco giant, Sprint Nextel, and fire their sorry asses.
Sprint did just that to more than a thousand hapless souls who, the company said, simply placed too
many calls to its customer service representatives.
There’s a perverse sort of logic to a telephone company firing customers who make too many calls to complain about its service. Following Sprint’s lead, maybe BP should refuse gasoline to drivers who frequent their gas stations one time too many. Or, how about the Verrazano Bridge refusing to collect $31 (or whatever outrageous fee they now charge to cross that godforsaken structure) because some Staten Island commuter had simply taken one trip too many?
Sprint Nextel’s shoddy service record has long been a blight on its desired corporate image. But, hanging up on unhappy customers isn’t the right way to build back trust. Did anyone in management think that maybe, just maybe, improving service might decrease the frequency of customer complaint calls and, ergo, negate the need to fire anyone?
Hmmm – maybe more mobile companies should follow Sprint’s lead – then I’ll know how to cancel my 2 yr subscription without incurring penalties :).
Hmmm – maybe more mobile companies should follow Sprint’s lead – then I’ll know how to cancel my 2 yr subscription without incurring penalties :).
I think Anonymous raises a valid point as do you, Rob and Trish. I don’t think shutting down the most vehement protestors is necessarily the smartest public relations move, though. In fact, there might have been a way for Sprint Nextel to “embrace” those angry customers via some sort of digital conversation (managed by their PR people) as opposed to simply cutting them off for good. In fact, I think Sprint will find that hell hath no fury like that of a customer scorned.
Why create additional enemies?
Don’t you think that the complainers, the fired customer, the people that were calling in “too much” were the ones that could have really helped Sprint Nextel improve there services? They were simply telling the phone giant that there are problems that need fixing. If all those customers are being fired, will the phone company ever improve?
I, too, feel this was a great move on Sprint’s behalf. Our wonderful society is so used to getting what it wants – that whole entitlement thing. While Sprint customer service may stink – Nextel customer service has always been great to me. The two customer service lines remain separate.
Having worked in customer service for many years and now am on the end of manufacturing consumer calls, I know sometimes people just need to be patient. I applaud Sprint for taking a risk – AND it may also show they are listening to their customer service reps who get the brunt of these consumer calls. Looks like Sprint may have just listened to its valued employees a bit more than its consumers.
I think it’s pretty embarrassing for Sprint, but it isn’t all that uncommon. A mid-sized retailer ,that will go unnamed, has a policy of accepting all returns no matter how old or beat up. You don’t need a receipt. The customer is always right, blah blah blah. This leaves the door wide open for people to take advantage of that policy, as many have. To those customers, after a few returns of heavily worn clothes from years past, a letter will greet them that basically fires them. Thank you for your business, but apparently we cannot satisfy your shopping needs and it would be best if you shopped elsewhere. Is it nice? No. Was the retailer treated fairly? No. The difference is, this retailer has outstanding customer service. Sprint has a reputation for horrible service.